Safe From Anything but Her Doubts
by BookLover223
Summary: It's only been one day but in that one day Snow feels that she's become a completely changed woman. She hopes that she's helped him get his happy ending far, far away from her. Because if there's one thing she's learned it's that she doesn't deserve one.


**Summary:It's only been one day but in that one day Snow feels that she's become a completely changed woman. She hopes that she's helped him get his happy ending far, far away from her. Because if there's one thing she's learned it's that she doesn't get a happy ending. She doesn't deserve one. A closer look at "Snow Falls" through the mid of our favorite girl- sorry woman.**

**AN) ****This is apology to all Runaway Princess and the Shepard fans for the lack of update. School has been kicking my ass lately and I haven't had much time. This came out of the last half hour of class after I finished a test. It clocks in at a little past 2,000 words so I hope this makes up for my lack of update. I promise I'm working on it. **

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><p><em>You won't find faith or hope down a telescope<em>  
><em> You won't find heart and soul in the stars<em>  
><em> You can break everything down to chemicals<em>  
><em> But you can't explain a love like ours.<em>

_~Science and Faith by The Script_

Safe From Anything but Her Doubts

He saved her. It was an incomprehensible thought. It takes a moment for her to catch her breath and even still her voice cracks.

"You saved me" It's a statement, no thank you, no questions just a short statement. And just like that she's seconds away from tears. Because it's been so long since anyone has given a damn about her. And then this, this . . . Prince _Charming_ swoops in and saves her without a second thought. And then he's staring at her as if . . . as if she's the most wonderful person in the world. She honestly doesn't know if she can handle this, handle him. Despite her struggles she's falling in love with him and she knows it.

"It seemed like the honorable thing to do." He states it so plainly, like it was the only option he had in that situation that she falls even more in love with him in that moment. And he's still staring at her with those amazing, too blue, eyes. Eyes that can see into a person's very soul. Eyes that made her feel like she was, well . . . a princess. It was cliché but true he made her feel like a princess for the first time since her exile. "Are you ready?" the noise broke the spell, jolting her out of her thoughts. _What?_ She feels genuine confusion at his words.

"For what?" Even as she says it she feels her heart drop. She was missing something, that there was one fact that she was overlooking.

"My jewels" He replied; a concerned look appeared on his face. _The jewels_ of course, she felt as though someone had splashed cold water on her. _The jewels_, how had she forgotten about the jewels? It was the entire reason he had tracked her down, the reason he even met her in the first place. It was likely the only reason he had saved her from the queen's men he needed her to lead him to his mother's ring. The disappointment she felt at his words wasn't understandable. Snow mentally shook herself and tried, to no avail to concentrate on the task at hand.

_Remember he's marrying the nag, not you. _She barriers the thought quickly and prays to whatever deity that hates her hoping that _Charming_ wouldn't hear the pause in her speaking, or the hurt in her voice. "Right, you've got a wedding to get to." She tries not to wince at the bitter tone of her voice and takes a shuttering breath that's equal parts hysterical and calming before speaking again. She looks over his head, but not at him as she speaks. "The trolls I sold the jewels to are just beyond the next ridge. We need to be careful." She can't stress the last sentence enough. The thought of anything happening to him makes her want to turn herself into the queen's men for a quick death.

"What of trolls?" He sounds confused and there's something that's just so cute about his nativity that she feels her smirk coming back.

"You've clearly never met one," She informed him happy her voice was no longer betraying her now that they were back on familiar ground.

"Aren't they just little people?" Snow doesn't know whether to laugh, scream, or cry. He was going to get them killed.

"You're thinking of dwarfs, show a little respect, they'll cut you hand off sooner than they'll shake it." And suddenly she can't help but remember the dwarfs she had meet as a child when her father had taken he to visit the rulers of another kingdom. She couldn't remember much about the trip, but she did remember fleeing their castle when she hears she would most likely marry the boy, James, who had lived there. Near the castle she had found the cottage of the eight dwarfs. They had spent time together until her parents and the palace guard had found her. She still remembered Grumpy crying a bit as he hugged her and told her to take care of herself. In all honesty some of the tricks Stealthy had taught her were the only reasons she was still alive. She wondered if the dwarfs still remembered her. Or if they would recognize her as she was now. _Probably not_, she thought grimly, even her own father wouldn't recognize her. She wasn't the same sweet naïve girl she had been she had hardened and built walls in order to survive. Walls that had been torn down by Prince _Charming_ within moments of their meeting. Speaking of _Charming_ she pulled herself from her musings in time to hear the end of his sentence.

"- get this over with." There proof enough he wasn't interested. Gathering the last remains of her shredded walls Snow fixed a smirk on her face before responding.

"Right, we've both got places to be. Let's go." She started walking, hoping to cover the fact that her voice had gotten quieter.

"Right, you've got your lonely little corner of solitude to find." _Solitude, what solitude?_ There is no such thing as solitude when the whole world is on the lookout for you. _Two can play at this game._

"And you have a ring-less fiancé to appease." She hoped that he couldn't hear the crash of her heart shattering. She would help him get his happily ever after and deprive herself of her own. _Because he's worth it_. This amazing, _Charming_ man is worth it.

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><p>She knew it! Prince <em>Charming <em>was going to get them killed. She should have just left him in the forest near the bridge. She had actually suggested it to him, but the stupid, pigheaded, chivalrous, annoying, stubborn, _royal_ thought that she would ditch him . . . again. She was fine with the questioning; she was even fine with the sword at her throat. The one thing she couldn't stand was them trying to kill him. By this point Snow had to acknowledge that she was 100% in love with the prince. It may not have been love at first sight, but it was love and she was not going to let him die.

Then he picks up the sword and fights like a man possessed. She caught a glimpse of the look in his eyes the glacial gaze makes her feel as though she is frozen from the inside out. But for the one moment his gaze caught her she saw something in his eyes; a slight softening, and emotion she didn't have time to figure out. He tells her to go and she does believing he's hot on her heels. She makes into the forest before she even thinks about looking back.

"Follow me," she says adrenaline pumping as she runs through the trees, "they don't know the forest like I do-"The last word trails off as she realizes he isn't there. She stops and looks down at the fairy dust in her hands and back at the bridge. It was the only way to save him that much was obvious. Happy endings may not exist, but getting revenge on that wicked bitch was the closest she could get. For a moment she considers running and finally getting her revenge. But then she remembers him, his smile, and his laugh, the teasing tome of his voice when he called her princess and the look in his eyes just now when he was fighting for. With that picture set firmly in her mind she makes her way back to him.

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><p>"You . . . you saved me." He sounds breathless and disbelieving. For a moment it hurts, him thinking that low of her, but she realizes that she deserved it because she almost did leave him. And he's looking at her with something akin to admiration in his eyes and it's almost enough to make her start crying (again).<p>

"It was the honorable thing to do." She hates the way does this, deflecting and using sarcasm to cover her feelings. The defense mechanism is almost automatic by now, but she wishes she could turn it off. He asks her about the queen and honestly she doesn't know what she's going to do, but it's alright because he's safe. They collect their belongings and she can't help but smirk a little as she uses, yet another, quip to her advantage.

"Anyway how could I let Prince _Charming _die?"

"I told you I have a name." Is he flirting? The slight upturn of his mouth and the sparkle in eyes suggested that he might be. She bites back her automatic response that yes she knows he has a name but he will always be Prince _Charming_ to her. Her silence is rewarded when he continues, "It's James." James, she always liked that name and now she likes it even more. She won't call him James though, no matter what else she's said Charming really does suit him.

"It's nice to meet you James."

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><p>"Well, you probably want this." They've stopped at a crossroads halfway between each of their respective destinations. He is going to The Nag and she is going to go visit her friend Red. As he hands her the gold she can't help but regret how short the walk back was.<p>

"Right the gold, thank you." By this point she had completely forgotten about the gold, but it did remind her. She pulled the ring from its hiding spot. "And you can't get married without this." Some small part of her wants to run with the ring so he will find her again but she stands her ground. He double checks the pouch and removes the ring.

"I know, not your style." He says it as a joke, but she feels genuinely hurt. The hurt takes root and makes her brash. She reaches out and plucks the ring from his hands.

"Well there's only one way to find out." She slides the ring onto the appropriate finger and holds it up to the light. As it turns out Charming was wrong the ring fit her perfectly both in sizes and in design. When looking at that ring on her finger she can almost see her future with him. Chasing each other through the gardens, watching the sun rise and set from their balcony, playing with their beautiful baby boy (the spitting image of his father, with his mother's eyes), and generally growing old together. It's all just too much and as quickly as she put the ring on she tears it off and hands it to him.

"Yeah not me at all." But she wishes it were, she wishes with all her heart and soul that the life she saw would be hers. But he's a prince that's about to get engaged and she's an outlaw with her wished bitch of stepmother after her. The very definition of impossible. Her hand feels slightly empty after the ring is gone. It was almost as if in the short moment it had become a part of her. Snow brushed the thought off and mentally assured herself that the feeling would go away. (The feeling did go away very shortly after the glass coffin, when her prince slipped the ring back on to her finger) They talk a bit more and he offers her more gold but she doesn't want his pity. And suddenly it's time to say good-bye.

"Well, wherever you're going be careful. And if you ever need anything-"

"You'll find me." And she has no doubt that he would be able to if her tried. She does however doubt he will ever need to find her again.

"Always" It's a clear statement no wavering no doubt. They stare at each other for a few moments more, drinking in the appearance of the other person. She does believe he could find her and almost voices her thoughts but adds an almost in at the last second. And suddenly the moment they've been putting off has come upon them.

"Well good-bye Snow White." The way he says her name makes her insides melt. She covers it as she always does.

"Good-bye Prince _Charming_." She stresses the word charming and adds a little bow for fun.

"It's James." He tries to correct her but he's smiling this time.

"Nah, I still like _Charming_ better." She gives off a nervous little giggle and turns around to take her leave unaware of the eyes following her retreat.

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><p>It's only been one day but in that one day Snow feels that she's become a completely changed woman, although not much has changed at all. Her name is still Snow White, her step-mother is still trying to kill her, and she still doesn't believe in love at first sight or first kiss. But she believes in true love and that has changed her entire outlook on life. She waits until she is certain he is far enough away before turning around to watch him. And as she watches him walk away she hopes to any and all higher powers that may or may not exist that he gets his happily ever after. She hopes that the ring brings him love as it's supposed to. She hopes that he doesn't feel as heartbreakingly alone and empty as she does in that moment. She hopes that she's helped him get his happy ending far, far away from her. Because if there's one thing she's learned it's that she doesn't get a happy ending. She doesn't deserve one.<p>

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><p>I'm bruised and scarred<br>Save me from this broken heart  
>All my love will slowly fade and fall apart<br>Someone please sing this lovesick melody  
>Call my name if you're afraid<br>I'm just a kiss away

~Bruised and Scarred by Mayday Parade

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><p><strong>AN #2) Please review yesterday was my birthday and it was horrible. I need cheering up. My glasses broke, I dropped my baked goods, fell down the stairs a few times at school in front of crowds and more. So please take pity and send a review.<strong>

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><p><strong>An # 3) (Last one I swear) I have a lot of just random undeveloped ideas for this fandom. Would anyone want me to just post some of the small pieces I have of them until I can get back to them?<strong>


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